Shattered: Fight or Flight
by PSPGamerGirl
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple surveillance mission in Wutai. Genesis Rhapsodos was NOT supposed to be stranded in a neutral village with a Shinra infantryman after his helicopter was shot down. Slight Kunsel/OC, Genesis/Kunsel FRIENDSHIP. Prequel to Shattered: Act 1. Please Review!
1. Prologue

Hey guys, you remember that oneshot I promised? Yeah, I'm sure you've all been wondering what's been taking so long, and here's your answer: it's no longer a oneshot–it's going to be a short multi-chapter story. Why? BECAUSE GENESIS IS SUCH A SCREEN HOG, THAT'S WHY! *sigh* Oh, and it may also have something to do with me currently being obsessed with The Avengers and not writing as much... *cringe* Blame Tom Hiddleston. It's his fault for making Loki so awesome...

Anyway, as we go along here, I'm sure you'll notice things are not exactly like the original Shattered Prologue said, such as Lexie and Genesis' meeting being completely different than what it was before. That's because of the rewrite. You'll see what I mean later.

I'm not done with the rest of the story yet, but I didn't want you guys to have to wait anymore, so enjoy this prologue. :)

**Disclaimer: This disclaimer disclaims the disclamation of its disclaimancy and anything else you want to be disclaimed, including the disclaimer that disclaims the fact that I came up with this disclaimer to disclaim that I own FF. Now did anyone actually follow that? **

"How about Tess?" Angeal Hewley glanced at his best friend in anticipation of his reaction.

The Shinra lunch room was quiet that day, and he spoke softly, as though not to disturb some sleeping behemoth. After all, it wasn't often the vociferous cadets and younger SOLDIER recruits' voices weren't bouncing off the dull grey walls and giving everyone else a headache.

Genesis Rhapsodos frowned, swallowing the bite of hardly edible steak he'd just put in his mouth a few moments ago. "Your secretary?"

Angeal shrugged. "Not your type, I suppose."

"And she has a laugh surpassing that of my fangirls on the scale of annoyance," Genesis said with a slight shutter. Both Angeal and their mutual friend, Sephiroth, chuckled shortly.

"What about Rosalind?" Angeal said suddenly, straightening his shoulders at the thought. "She's more your type."

Genesis had to agree with him on that one–she _was_ more his type. He had no interest in girls that needed constant protecting, and that was definitely not Rosalind. Unfortunately, that was also the reason she _wasn't_ his type. "She's a _Turk_."

Angeal raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So I'd rather not end up shot?" Genesis gestured dramatically with one hand while stabbing his food with the fork in the other.

Angeal tilted his head. "Point taken. What about–"

Genesis dropped his fork on the table and propped his head in hands. "Explain to me again _why_ it is that I need a girlfriend?"

_Because you're far more pleasant to be around when you have one,_ Angeal thought, but only tilted his head and gave Genesis a _look_. Even though Angeal knew his irritated friend couldn't see it, he didn't doubt he could feel it. "Genesis, you haven't had a girlfriend since you were promoted to 1st Class."

"It hasn't been _tha_t long," Genesis argued, bringing his head up, but slumping back into his chair with look of exasperation on his face.

"Fine. Name one."

Genesis opened his mouth to reply, but snapped it shut when he realized he couldn't.

"I didn't think so." Angeal sighed. "Honestly, what happened? The girls used to be all over you in high school."

Genesis sent him a glare. At the same time, Sephiroth asked, "Pardon?"

"Did he _really _have to know that?" Genesis demanded.

Angeal raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry; I was unaware that was a secret."

Genesis started to retort when a shrill beeping cut him off. Dropping the current topic, he reached into his pocket and fished out his PHS, flipping it open. After reading the message, he snapped it shut and stood up before grabbing his lunch tray.

"Mission?" Sephiroth more stated then asked in his forever resonant voice.

"Hm." Genesis gave a nod, frowning at the fact he hadn't been able to get to the subject sooner. "I'll be seeing you both in a couple of days."

"Days?" Angeal frowned, glancing up from his plate, his meal forgotten.

"Yes," Genesis confirmed with a quirk of his eyebrow. "If you had not persisted your topic so aggressively, I would have had the time to brief you fully on it. All I can tell you now is that I'm headed off to Wutai."

"Wutai, huh? More surveillance?"

Genesis nodded. "Hm. I suspect we will make our move for this particular base soon."

"Probably," Angeal agreed grimly, having had the same thoughts many times in the past few weeks. "Well, good luck."

Genesis gave another nod and walked off, quoting LOVELESS as he did so, and dumped the rest of his lunch in the trash.

"Oh, wait," Angeal said, interrupting what he knew to be the end of Act III and pushing back his chair before standing up to follow him. "Don't you need your materia back?"

Genesis made a dismissive gesture with his hand, not bothering to even turn around. "I have plenty of potions."

Ten minutes later, he was boarding a helicopter that was, thankfully, not piloted by the reckless Turk by the name of Reno. Instead, the pilot was a young Turk who barely had any experience. Genesis wasn't quite sure which was worse. At least Reno knew what he was doing; he just seemed to enjoy seeing how few millimeters of compressed air he could leave between the hull of the chopper and whatever they happened to be almost crashing into. Genesis didn't doubt for a second that Reno took sadistic pleasure in scaring his passengers out of their wits.

Genesis took a seat in the helicopter and leaned back against the cold, metal wall. As he studied the cramped hold, he noted with faint surprise there were four infantrymen also assigned to the mission, as he hadn't bothered reading the full mission briefing. He relaxed in his seat, not bothering to conceal his observation of the others. He needed to know how reliable each one was should he need to send one out as a scout. Two were shuffling in their seats, which automatically canceled them out. The other two were sitting still, but one was tapping his fingers quietly on the weapon in his lap. The last Genesis could have sworn was holding his gaze through the standard-issue infantry helmet. Genesis smirked and turned away.

The engine roared to life and, seconds later, they took to the air. Genesis dropped his head back and closed his eyes. It was a long flight to Wutai and he wanted to be alert when he arrived. The shuffling beside him told him two of the infantrymen were copying his actions.

Genesis slipped into a dreamless sleep, only awakening when it was already dark outside. As his eyes flickered back open, he glanced around to see what the other occupants of the flight were doing. He raised an eyebrow at the two infantrymen who had been fidgeting before–they were now playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors" and being quite loud about it with their snickering. Genesis refrained from rolling his eyes and glanced over to the third infantryman, who was restlessly looking around the dimly lit helicopter, but refraining from any other movement.

Sighing, Genesis let his eyes briefly pass by the fourth trooper and drift up to the ceiling. His traveling gaze stopped suddenly, and he snapped it back down to do a double take. He openly stared as he tried to contemplate how on Gaia the man had managed to build a five story–soon to be six story–_card house_ in a moving helicopter. As he studied the design, he noticed that it certainly wasn't an ordinary one. If fact, he couldn't even figure out how it was standing.

A sudden, harsh jerk of the helicopter sent the card house crumbling to the floor just as the infantryman was about to add the last level. He sat with his hands frozen in mid-air for a moment, and then sighed deeply. He gathered up his cards neatly and put them in a small box before sitting back in his chair and putting on his safety harness.

Genesis smirked faintly. That one had patience. He looked forward to seeing him in action.

Another jolt rocked the helicopter, and Genesis buckled his own safety harness. The two infantrymen playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors" collided into each other and one was knocked to the floor. The third infantryman snickered at them.

Genesis' eyebrow rose in disgust. It wasn't hard to guess who the brains of the group was.

It was then the helicopter was wrenched much harder than before. Genesis' head slammed against the wall and all three of the unbuckled infantrymen were tossed violently across the small enclosure. Genesis blinked and shook his head. A warning signal from the cockpit blared and the helicopter started spinning. Alarmed yells rose from the infantrymen, and the power flickered out.

Despite his mako enhancements, Genesis glimpsed only select, shadowed shapes thrown about the cramped hold. His stomach lurched, and he was gripped by the sickening sensation of the bottom of his stomach falling away. Pressure seized his body. As the fuzziness of slamming his skull against the bulkhead slowly wore off, he thought he caught a flash of twisted evergreen branches slapping against the single, tiny window, but that couldn't be right. The helicopter was too large to fly through the forest.

He had enough time to frown before metal screamed and groaned, glass shattered, and shrieks of pain that hardly sounded human detonated around him–a brutal assault on his enhanced ears. Above the chaos, Genesis heard a single, soft snap. Only when his body launched into the air did he realize his harness had given way. His already tender head struck something hot and hard.

Blinding pain spiraled down his neck, then cool, blessed relief washed over him in the form of a dark, soundless, senseless wave, and he willingly let himself go under.


	2. Chapter 1

__**Salute, my dear readers! I have returned. :) As I am sure you all know, NaNoWriMo is coming up, and that means I won't be able to work on Shattered or Fight or Flight for the entire month. :( BUT, I will be posting the new Shattered Prologue before November starts! :) However...I do need one thing from you guys. PLEASE go vote on my poll! I need your input!**

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_Sir?_

A distorted and muffled voice penetrated the endless silence. All sensations mixed together–his fogged consciousness was unable separate them.

_Sir, can you hear me?_

There! He felt a touch–two fingers–on his skin, on his neck. His mind latched onto the sensation, using it as a tether to keep from slipping away into the blackness again. Slowly, clarity returned, bringing the sharp sting of pain and a dull ringing with it.

Azure eyes flickered open, taking in blurred shapes. Three red circles of light engulfed his surroundings at first, but then his enhanced senses adjusted, and the image sharpened. They weren't just lights–they were foremost part of a standard Shinra infantryman's helmet.

Genesis blinked and let out a groan as he became fully aware of his injuries. His ears were buzzing, singing like a Giant Hornet of the desert. It made his head feel like it was under water, stuck with pressure pushing from every angle. Warmth–a thick, liquid warmth–ran drop by drop down the back of his neck and spine.

"Sir!" The volume of the cadet's relived voice–young, but with a hint of maturity–caused Genesis to flinch slightly. "Thank Gaia, I'd almost thought you'd died of blood loss."

Genesis grimaced. "Not yet..." He moved his fingers, testing if he could still feel them. Gaia, he fell like vomiting."...but perhaps soon." A wet drop slid down the right side of his face, its source a stinging gash on his forehead.

"What do you need me to do?" The cadet was completely composed and awaiting orders; Genesis didn't stop to wonder which of the four infantrymen he was.

Genesis grimaced as he pushed off the helicopter's hull–which had been keeping him upright in the first place–and used it to support him as he returned to his feet. His left leg nearly gave out, but he shifted quickly to his right. "Enlighten me on our situation."

The cadet rose from his crouched position. "All other mission personnel are deceased, sir. The emergency medical and food supplies are in fair condition."

Genesis grunted. "Grab what you can carry. The odds are in favor of this contraption setting ablaze in the near future, and I'd rather not be in the vicinity when it does."

"Sir!" He saluted, and then did as he was told, dashing to the other side of the helicopter.

Genesis turned his attention to his injuries, hoping to find them less severe than they felt. They weren't. His mind was still too groggy to note specifics, but he knew he was in bad shape. The mako in his system was only thing that would save him. Still, he was used to this sort of situation; it was mainly his head injury he concerned about.

By this time, the cadet had succeeded in his ordered task and piled what supplies he could outside the helicopter. Genesis took a deep breath and froze. Being able to smell the gas leaking near open flames was _not_ good.

"Cadet, we need to move!" His tone left no room for argument as he forced his injured body to high tail it out of the helicopter. The infantryman followed closely.

If the explosion had come any sooner, they in all likeliness would have been killed. As things were, however, it shook the ground enough to knock them off their feet. Genesis just broke the fall with his hands, causing his palms to sting as his hearing cut out.

He wasn't foolish enough to believe his head couldn't hurt any worse before, but now he was fairly certain that was the case.

He saw nothing but stars, and all could focus on was the deafening ring in his left ear. He couldn't hear_ anything_ out of his right ear, but it _hurt_. His gloved hand clasped it as he rolled onto his back. Something was wrong.

The infantryman was crouched beside him, saying something he couldn't make out. The kid was fortunate–infantrymen's helmets were designed to protect their hearing because their primary weapons were guns. Genesis, on the other hand, had gotten the explosion with full force mako hearing.

The infantryman's posture suddenly went rigid, his hand slowly moving up to his neck. Even in his disoriented state, Genesis could see the dart sticking out of the boy's skin. It was only a matter of seconds before he slumped over, half on top of Genesis' torso, unconscious. Genesis' coherence left him again as he lost the battle to keep his eyes open.

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**I am sorry this is so short, but the Shattered Prologue will make up for that! Until next time!**


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